I could use a new set of tires
I need tires on the road bike. I'm guessing that I have almost 2.5k miles on them. Which seems pretty good.
My problem (and this goes with all things bike related) is that my preference is for top of the line. Top of the line doesn't mean that they last long or are durable. At least for tires. But usually top of the line tires feel better and offer more consistent and/or predictable traction.
So top of the line tires are also expensive. Really expensive. Regular retail will set you back about $100+ for a pair of Conti GP4000's, Michelin ProRace3's or Vittoria Open Corsa CX's. Online, ProbikeKit.com has the best prices at about $70 or so for a set. That's a $30 difference. I believe in supporting the local shops, I've worked in bicycle retail and know most of the people in the shop, so I know the trials and struggles. But I also know that for some items there's no way the local shops can afford to sell as low as the online suppliers do.
This isn't to say that I don't buy things at the local shop. In fact, I'd say that 70% of my purchases are at the local level. And the current set of tires I'm running were purchased at the local shop. But I believe this set is gonna be online. Thirty bucks is thirty bucks.
Anyway, I'm not sure which set I should get. I've used Vittoria Open Corsa's before and love the way they ride. But I didn't keep track of what kind of mileage I got out of them. I know I can get about 2.5k out of a set of Conti's. I guess that's a year to a year and a half if I continue to ride the road bike as much as I have this year. (according to SportTracks I have about 900 miles so far this year) Of course last year (and especially the year before) I don't think I rode the road bike half as much as this. This year it seems to be a pretty even split between the road bike and the fixed wheel. Last couple years I pent much more time fixed. I guess it was the new relationship syndrome. But that's passed, and now she's used when the roadie isn't the right choice.
Back to my thoughts on tires, the other choice for tires are the Michelin ProRace3 (or ProRace2 if I can find them. PBK had them on closeout for cheap recently but must have sold out.) I've heard good things about them. But I don't know how they stand next to the other tires. And I've never ridden Michelin's. Not at all. So even though I hear good things, I think "what if I don't like 'em?"
So I guess the point of this post is to see if anyone is willing to comment what tires they use and what type of mileage they get out of them. As well as any other thoughts they have about them. What are peoples experience with Conti's Black Chili compound. I like color matching tires to bike, but I wonder if black lasts any longer. Etc.
tirestiresconticonticontinentalcontinentalmichelinmichelinvittoriavittoriaProBikeKitProBikeKitShopShopRetailRetailCostCostSavingSavingBudgetBudgettirestirestubestubescyclingcyclingbicyclebicyclebikebikeracingracingclincherclincheropen+tubularopen+tubularopen+corsaopen+corsapavepaveGP4000GP4000GP3000GP3000Grand+PrixGrand+PrixGPGPProRace+3ProRace+3ProRace+2ProRace+2Pro+RacePro+Raceset+of+tiresset+of+tires
Comments (1) Tuesday 07/01/2008 | 10:39 am
Garmin Edge 305 (warranty/replacement)
I just got off the phone with Garmin (after being on hold for about 45 minutes). See about two weeks before my great Almanzo 100 ride, the down arrow button stopped working. I debated weather or not to send it in for warranty, and decided that I'd continue using it till fall, as it still functioned correctly. The only real drawback was only having the up arrow button to use for menu selections.
But what would occasionally happen is after turning the unit on, I would hit the up arrow and the contrast and brightness menu would come up and go a tich darker. It did it yesterday, then again this morning. Then in attempting to see if there was any way at all to get it lighter, I darkened it all the way.
So while the unit itself works just fine, I can not see anything while riding. It will record my rides just fine so i can still download and anylyze using SportTracks. I just can't access any info during my ride.
The unit is still under warranty, but I really didn't want to be without a unit while it was being sent in for repair/replacement. So that's why I called.
After being on hold for about a trillion years, Shaun came on the phone and told me my options. Basicaly if I don't want to be without a unit, I pay up front the $99 out of warranty repair charge, they send me a unit, I send my broken unit to them with a special RMA number, and they credit me the $99. This seems pretty fair to me, so I started the process.
So while on the bike for the next couple days, I have to use the old fashioned, perceived exertion to guage worklevel, and keep to routes I know so that I don't stray out to far that I don't make it back at the times I'm supposed to be back. Once I get home I can still access all my workout data just fine.
garmingarminedgeedge305305HRHRcadencecadenceheart+rateheart+ratecyclocomputercyclocomputersporttrackssporttracksCyclingCyclingrideridetrainingtrainingunitunitwarrantywarrantyreplacementreplacement
Comments (0) Monday 06/30/2008 | 12:16 pm
One Less Car has a new design
Just got this e-mail from Cole:
ever been doored? its a bummer so we made a shirt about it because...well its part of city riding,i was really close to getting a good dooring today.Check it here: http://www.1lesscar.com/shirts/doored.html.
dooreddooredOne+less+carOne+less+carshirtshirtcole+batescole+batestshirttshirtT+shirtT+shirtcyclingcyclingurbanurban
Comments (0) Wednesday 06/25/2008 | 09:09 am
Product Review - Cars-R-Coffins socks by Sock-Guy
Let me get this straight. I did not buys these socks. Nor am I sponsored by CRC and obligated to spew the eternal love for them. I got these socks for my participation and well placing in the most awesome gravel road race in Minnesota. There were a couple other goodies available but I choose this pair of socks because, well, because I guess I have a thing for footwear. I more socks than I really need. I have various work, casual, athletic, cycling, skate and leisure shoes. At least two pairs of each. In fact I have been called Imelda by some of those close to me. Of course it was in jest. But let's just say I like shoes and socks.
So at the prize table were a bunch of goodies, that I could have taken, but I saw these socks. I picked them up and examined them. They are a little taller than most of my other socks, black (90% of my socks are black, this goes back to my mountain biking days, but that's another story), and were made from a wool/poly combo. They also had the Cars-R-Coffins icon which is really cool. That was all enough to hook me and I shooved them into my pocket for safe transport home where I could attempt to flaunt to the fam (as if they really care about my socks - HAH!) my latest addition to the collective.
< this is where I may put a photo of the wonderfull socks by Cars-R-Coffins >
Well that was about 3 1/2 weeks ago. Since them I have worn them to work, church and on a ride or 2. I even wore them an entire weekend in various footwear and activities without washing to test the anti-stink factor.
I am fully impressed by these socks. I had another pair of Sock-Guy wool socks from a year or 2 ago that got a hole in the toe pretty quickly. So I was a little nervous about these doing the same. But in comparison, it looks like this is a new (thicker) blend weave that hopefully translates to extra durability.
< maybe an image of the socks in the laundry here >
Get this, I love wool stuff. Jerseys, sweaters, shirts, warmers and - of course - socks. But my problem has been in the care of said wool items. I've shrunk many (many-many-many) things by not paying attention and throwing them in the dryer after washing. Luckily, these socks are easy to care for. They've gone for a tumble in the dryer a couple times already and come out fine.
They're comfy too. Like I said above, they're a little thicker than typical cycling socks, so they feel a little warmer as I sit in the office with clunky work shoes on. But on the road, I didn't notice any extra warmth while riding. Maybe in the fall and winter, this magical property of wool will begin to shine through.
< image of socks on my feet while riding >
Anyhow, to say that I think thses socks are the bees-knees (or the sheeps-knees) is an understatement. They're comfy, stylish and free. Well at least free for me. You can get 'em by paying $12 at the Cars-R-Coffins site.
feetfeetsockssocksshoesshoesimeldaimeldaGunnarGunnarSoroosSoroosCyclingCyclingAlmanzoAlmanzoAlmanzo100Almanzo100RaceRacePrizePrizeRideRideAthleticAthleticSocksSocksCars-R-CoffinsCars-R-CoffinsSock-GuySock-GuyWoolWoolWoolieWoolie
Comments (0) Tuesday 06/10/2008 | 10:45 am
SportTracks release 2.0.3074
Sporttracks (the best software for gps enabled cycling computers) has a new release. Here's the list of updates and fixes.
New features added in this releaseYou know I'll be downloading it (from here) and trying it out.
* Cadence & Power Zones
* Cadence & Power activity detail page split from Cycling
* Heart rate, cadence & power data track values added to route detail window.
* HR import for garmin .gpx files (from "Colorado" GPS)
* Import power data from Forerunner 705 .tcx file
* Name field selection from list in Import window
* Navigate to activity details from reports with double-click on list or map
* New columns: max HR, max cadence, max power, max grade use max of max activity value for groups of activity instead of max of avg
* Slovak translation
Bug fixes
* Bug with displaying very short time segments
* Equipment mileage not reduced when removing activity
* Weather location searching (hopefully)
* Timex importer time offset and clear memory option
* Bug with lap times when importing .hrm files
* Import bug (spinning on 100% forever)
* Add athlete info off by one day in some timezones
* Sort workouts with speed 0.0 in the correct place
* Save import options: "Split activity" and "Split activity num hours"
* Fastest & average speed chart on reports by activity showing meters-per-second instead of mph or km/h
* Funky scrollbar page up/down in tables.
* Home/End/Page Up/Page Down not working in tables.
* When prefilling equipment on a category change, only add items in use
* Allow deleting custom distance splits when there are more than recorded laps
Release Announcement
sporttrackssporttracksgarmingarminedgeedge305305heart+rateheart+rategpsgpscadencecadencesoftwaresoftwarecyclistatscyclistatsmotionbasedmotionbasedtrainingtrainingloglog
Comments (0) Monday 06/02/2008 | 10:15 pm
Another Cycling Mapping Site - CyclistNexus.com
Well another site has popped up to compete in the competitive route mapping site war. CyclistNexus.com has opened up. You MUST join and login to use the site, but it is free to join.
To be honest I haven't joined yet, so this preview is based only on the information given on the site without joining.
It's another system that uses Google maps at its core. This is good because Google maps work. My only complaint is that I wish Google would update it's maps more often. If you live in an area that is experienceing growth, there seems to be new roads added monthly. Some that have been in use for a couple of years don't show up on Google's map or satellite views.
CyclistNexus imports and export gpx files so is compatible (or at least should be) with gps devices. It even includes waypoints and cuesheets into it's routes. (I need to play with the routes function on my Edge more.)
Like MapMyRide, CyclistNexus is including some sort of riding log to track performance. How detailed it is, is yet to be seen. If it's like MapMyRide, it will be a simple tool aimed at beginners.
The thing I couldn't find out was if CyclistNexus will allow posting of maps to other sites. This feature on MapMyRide is great for bloggers and club sites that wish to share an overview of a route without having users leave the site. It's extreemly usefull.
The other thing I can't tell is how big the library of maps is. The true test of a site such as this is attracting enough users that you build a large library of routes. This then will attract more users as they search for routes they don't know of. It's also usefull for those who travel or wish to travel and don't know routes in the area they are visiting. Say I wanted to visit a friend in Montana. If I go to look up routes in Billings and don't find any, I'll go to another site to use it's services if it has routes available.
Anyway, I think the route mapping concept is getting too big for itself again, expect some sites to fail, and some other buyouts.
mapmaprouteroutecuesheetcuesheetmappingmappingcyclingcyclingroadroadsitesitereviewreviewcyclistnexuscyclistnexusmapmyridemapmyridewebsitewebsitebicyclingbicycling
Comments (0) Tuesday 04/08/2008 | 09:37 am
